Cinderella
by Princess-Leasel
Summary: A story about Ducky's Cinderella, and what his life was like before he joined NCIS


**Cinderella**

Disclaimer: I do not own NCIS or Cinderella by Steven Curtis Chapman.

Before I could reach the door I could hear the music playing inside. The sounds of laughter brought a smile to my face. I looked up as the front door swung open. There she was, all frocked up in her favourite princess dress. She ran down the front stairs, her long brown hair flowing behind.

_She spins and she sways  
To whatever song plays  
Without a care in the world  
And I'm sitting here wearing  
The weight of the world on my shoulders_

I catch her as she jumps into my arms, lifting her high and spinning her around. She smiles at me, reminding me so much of her mother.

"Daddy, I dance tomorrow, promise to be there?" I brush the hair off her face and tell her I wouldn't miss it for the world. She giggles and kisses my cheek as her nanny ushers her off to bed. I sit down on the lounge and smile at my wife as she enters.

"Duck, I'm so sorry, I have to go, my father has found out about us." She gives me a small smile.

"He doesn't know about Cinda but so the sooner I leave the better."

"You can't just leave!"

"For the safety of our daughter I must. I'm so sorry. I love you both so much." I was frozen. By the time I recovered my wife was out the door.

"Talya wait!"

_It's been a long day  
And there's still work to do  
She's pulling at me  
Saying "Dad, I need you_

"Mummy's not coming back is she?"

She has always been a smart kid and I know deep down that I could never lie to her. I take her hand as we begin to cross the park.

"No pumpkin, she's not." I see her nod and quickly wipe away a few tears. We reach her dance school and I bend down to her level.

"1 month and we will be in America. We can start over there. Clean slate." She nod again and pulls me into a quick hug.

I watch as she begins to dance, praying that America really will hold a better and safer life for us.

_There's a ball at the castle  
And I've been invited  
And I need to practice my dancing  
Oh, please, Daddy, please?"_

I hold her hand as we slowly move around the dance floor. I look around and see all the little girls dancing with their daddy's. My little Cinda is all dressed up in a pale white dress. She was so happy that she got to be the flower girl.

"Daddy, when I get married I'm going to have it in a castle with lots and lots and flowers and a beautiful dress!" I smiled at her and kissed her head.

I carried her out of there that night. She was fast asleep in my arms and I was wishing that my princess could stay this age forever.

_So I will dance with Cinderella  
While she is here in my arms  
'Cause I know something the prince never knew  
Oh, I will dance with Cinderella  
I don't wanna miss even one song  
'Cause all too soon the clock will strike midnight  
And she'll be gone..._

Her hair is gelled back into a bun, her make-up is perfect and she is wearing a vibrant red leotard. She turns to me and asks if I'm going to wish her good luck. I smile and say no, telling her she looks beautiful, the spitting image of her mother. Her green eyes twinkled and I could tell that she could have received no better compliment.

"Go and knock'em dead sweetheart."

The theatre goes black and my little girl comes on in the spotlight. The music starts and I watch her dance. She knows her routine perfectly; all moves are precise and elegant. Her face is set in the classic ballerina expression but her eyes give away just how much she is enjoying herself out there.

The man beside me leans over.

"You're daughter?"

"Yes she is."

"She's a truly amazing dancer."

"Yes, yes she is."

She's the last one out as usual. She comes running over to me and throws her arms around me. I tell her how wonderful she danced and she gives me a huge smile.

"Daddy, this summer break they said there's a dance school in Egypt! I would really love to go! Please can I?" I sigh. I know she can never go back to Egypt with her grandfather taking her. We had only just managed to get out of there in time before.

"We will talk about it tomorrow." I say as we make our way to the car.

That night I drank as the realization hit me that my little girl is growing up and I might not be able to protect her from her family for much longer. One day she will have to learn about her mother's side of the family.

_She says he's a nice guy and I'd be impressed  
She wants to know if I approve of her dress  
She says, "Dad, the prom is just one week away  
And I need to practice my dancing  
Oh, please, Daddy, please?"_

I drove her to school today because she missed the bus. I arrive at the school and she is out of the car in seconds. She throws a quick wave over her shoulder before running up the hill to join her friends. Some of them I know, others I have never met. I watch as a guy comes up behind her and wraps his arms around her. I see her smile and lean back into his embrace. I bow my head and drive off. I have been the best father I could be but I'm not blind. Sometimes I realise that all a girl needs is a mother. I wonder if it was wrong of me to leave Cairo all those years ago, or maybe I should have brought Talya to America with us. There are too many maybes to even consider.

_So I will dance with Cinderella  
While she is here in my arms  
'Cause I know something the prince never knew  
Ooh-oh ooh-oh I will dance with Cinderella  
I don't want to miss even one song  
'Cause all too soon the clock will strike midnight  
And she'll be gone_

I'm sitting on the lounge when the door bell rings.

"Daddy, can you get that please."

Her date was dressed up in a tux, a huge bouquet of roses in his hands.

"Doctor Mallard."

"Ducky please! Nobody calls me Doctor Mallard. Come, sit. Cinda won't be to long now." I can tell he is uncomfortable just sitting there opposite me and I chuckle.

"OK, are you ready?"

We both look over to the stairwell to see a most beautiful young lady appear. Her dress was so elegantly beautiful, her long brown locks flowed down her shoulders and her mothers smile made it surreal. She looked as if she had literally just stepped out of a fairytale.

She blushed.

"Daddy, say something."

_She will be gone_

I just shake my head and hold up the camera. I am completely speechless. After a couple of shots of her and her date the young lad offers to take a photo of the two of us. I smile as I come and stand beside her, she smiles up at me and I know that this is it. She's a young lady now and she couldn't have turned into a better person.

I stand on the front porch and watch her walk down the driveway. She looks back at me and in an instant is beside me.

"I love you daddy." She gives me a kiss on the cheek and runs back to her date.

_Well, she came home today with a ring on her hand  
Just glowing and telling us all they had planned  
She says, "Dad, the wedding's still six months away  
But I need to practice my dancing  
Oh, please, Daddy, please?"_

"Daddy, trust me when I say I love him!"

"You have known him for all of 3months!"

"He's going to war next month daddy, and we want to be wed before he leaves so that when he returns he is returning to me! His wife, the woman who loves him."

All I can do is hold her tight. She's so young. She hasn't even experienced life and she wants to wed. It was only yesterday she was sitting on my knee taking in everything I was saying; now she's all grown up and ready to start a family of her own.

"I trust you Cinda."

I make my way towards my daughter. She looks radiant in her simple white dress. I extend my hand to her and when she takes it, I lead her onto the dance floor. The music starts and I hold her close.

"It's not the fairytale wedding you had planned." I feel her laugh and look down at her.

"Daddy, I couldn't have asked for a better wedding, everything is perfect." She rests her head on my chest.

"Thankyou dad."

"I love you Cinda. Your mother would have been so proud."

"I love you too daddy."

I heard a noise to my right and looked up. I smiled at my new son in law.

"Can I have this dance my love?"

My angel looked up at me and I kissed her forehead.

"She's all yours lad." I shook his hand and stepped aside, watching my Cinderella, the one I have always danced with, dance with another. The one she loved, the one that would make her happy.

_So I will dance with Cinderella  
While she is here in my arms  
'Cause I know something the prince never knew  
Ooh-oh ooh-oh I will dance with Cinderella  
I don't want to miss even one song_

I look around the church; so many people had turned up. They were all dressed in black and all crying. I can see her husband up the front. I couldn't bring myself to sit in there. This was not how I wanted to remember my daughter. I wanted to be able to close my eyes and remember her dancing, her smile and the accent she had whenever she said daddy. I was not going to remember this. I could see people starting to walk towards me. I don't want to speak to anyone, least of all people giving me false smiles and words of empty comfort. I turn and walk down the chapel steps. Tears are rolling down my face but I make no attempt to wipe them away.

I tried to make contact with her mother to tell her the painful news. That's when I found out she had been killed many years ago. It was then that I decided my princess would not be buried in America. She was going with me to Egypt to be buried by her mother's side. I knew she would have liked that.

I was no longer sure if I was crying for Cinda or Talya, all I knew was that they were both gone. Both taken way too early. God, Cinda wasn't even 20. My angel was gone and all I could think about was that I would give anything to hold her in my arms one last time. To dance with her just once more.

_'Cause all too soon the clock will strike midnight  
And she'll be gone_

* * *

This ending was sooo sad! I didn't want her to die! But I did it for two reasons.  
1- When I first heard this song I was told that the singer, Steven Curtis Chapman, had lost his eldest daughter. That's what made me want to write a story. It's such a beautiful song and it made me so sad to hear about his daughter. So I wanted it to reflect that.

2- I thought that if Ducky had a daughter alive today we would have heard about it. I mean its Ducky! As if he wouldn't have said something.

Please review on your way out!

XxPrincess-LeaselxX


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